THE NEW GIRL by Daniel Silva
Welcome back, Gabriel Allon. It has been too long since your last adventure and it is time you got back to being the star of the show. As the head of Israeli intelligence you should be there. Daniel Silva’s latest novel THE NEW GIRL has Allon front and center for the entire book and his presence makes this story one of Silva’s best. That and the fact it is Silva’s most timely story.
How does he do it is what I ask myself over and over when I am reading a Silva book such as this one. It is like you are reading a story torn from yesterday’s headlines. And by yesterday I am referring to twenty-four hours ago. The murder of a journalist by the Saudis, it is in here. Russian influence in Saudi Arabia, it is in here. A hundred other little details, they are in here.
The story starts with a kidnapping incident which involves the family of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Through a weird but logical set of events Allon is contacted by the prince for assistance. The combination of these two men from these two countries makes for a story that grabs your attention immediately and keeps you flying through the book. I would literally get to the end of a chapter and realize I had to re-read it because I had skimmed through it so fast to keep the plot moving. I read a lot of books and believe me I don’t do that very often.
This book not only has the plot details coming at you fast and furiously, it also has you moving from one city and place one after the other. You are in Israel, then Berlin, then Moscow, then London and on and on it goes. And while you are dodging bullets and bombs you are also being introduced or re-introduced to a supporting cast of players who are magnificent be they good or evil. The brilliant Silva doesn’t just bring them on to the scene, he makes them detailed and fully drawn. It is an amazing feat.
Silva has never written a bad book but there is something about this one that is just elevated a touch above most of the others. It is as if he spread all of his skills in front of himself and chose to use them all. Unique character studies, pulse pounding plot, detailed locales, he absorbed and combined them as he wrote his story.. And at the center is the reckless, strong, wise, heroic man of Israel, Gabriel Allon.
In today’s world we need our heroes. We need them to be believable but we also need them to be bigger than life. Gabriel Allon fills the bill. He is the man of the hour in the world of today. THE NEW GIRL celebrates that fact.
THE NEW GIRL is published by Harper. It contains 496 pages and sells for $28.99.
Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com
